Chapter One
MYA
Present Day
I’m just getting out of the shower when my phone rings. I walk over to it and see Declan’s name.
“Declan, what’s going on?” I ask as I answer the phone.
“Eric wants everyone at the office, Kim is missing,” he says, sounding distraught.
"What do you mean Kim is missing?" I ask Declan, but he hangs up the phone.
I quickly pull some clothes on, pull my long-wet hair into a messy bun, grab my keys, and head to the office.
When I get there, I see Eric holding Michelle upright.
"Eric, what is going on? Declan said Kim is missing?" I ask him.
"Let's wait for everyone to get here, and I will explain," Eric says as he looks down at Michelle.
I look at Michelle, she is absolutely pale, but trying her hardest to be strong. Kim is Michelle's best friend, and they have been since college. If anyone would know where Kim would be, it's Michelle, and if she doesn't know, then this is serious.
Looking at Eric and Michelle, I still can't believe they got married in secret, and none of us knew. Well, we suspected they were in a relationship, but marriage never crossed our minds, however looking at these two together, you can see they are a perfect fit. They are both each other's weaknesses and strengths.
I internally sigh wondering if I'll ever get lucky enough to find my other half, then I shake my thoughts away as this is not the time to be worrying about myself or lack of a love life.
Heath comes running into the conference room wearing only a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. The look on his face screams worry for his friend. Declan is right behind Heath, and before Heath can open his mouth, Eric says, "Wait until everyone is here."
Heath nods and takes a seat next to me, but I can feel anxiousness rolling off him.
Declan immediately takes a seat at the table, looking lost, and I have to wonder if there is more going on with him and Kim than just being friends. I know they have been spending some time together lately, as Kim is Michelle's maid of honor and Declan is to be Eric's best man when Eric and Michelle redo their wedding in two months. Would I be surprised if they took a page out of Michelle and Eric's book and are doing the secret romance? No, but again I could be reading more into their relationship than what actually is.
After another ten minutes, Frankie finally comes in looking sweaty and disheveled.
"Sorry, boss, I was on my way back from the gym when I received the call," he says.
"Now that everyone is here," Eric begins as Frankie takes a seat. "We have determined that Kim is missing."
"Why do we think she is missing?" I ask, needing more than what is being said.
Eric, understanding what I'm asking, says, "Declan went by her place to pick her up and found her vehicle in the driveway, her wallet, and keys in the house, but she was not there. When he tried to call her, it went straight to voicemail. I also tried to ping her location and found her phone to be off. After calling Heath and Frankie, we realized no one had seen or heard from her since she left the park."
The fact that her phone is off is worrisome, Kim never turns her phone off. Her car, wallet, and keys being at her house isn't that strange as Kim likes to walk to the shops around her area.
"Did anyone check the shops in her area?" I ask as I think it.
"Yes, I went by every single one, and no one has seen her today," Declan says in a low whisper.
I look over at Heath and can see the tracks of the tears as they coat his face. Declan looks completely lost, and Frankie looks stunned.
"What do you need us to do, Boss?" I ask since it seems everyone else forgot we are agents.
"We need to search her property for any clues that may tell us what happened to her," Eric says. "We treat this like any other crime scene. Right now, we are looking at the fact that it's only been just over two hours since she was last seen. I know we are jumping in early, but this is one of our own, and we need to find her," he says, looking down at his wife.
"I will send a data request to public safety for the Uber and Lyft data, and then I will call all the taxis, airports, and the train station to ensure she didn't have an emergency that caused her to leave without notice," I say as I grab a laptop and begin filling out the required form before searching for taxi companies.
"That's good. Declan, you and Heath go to her house and search it for anything you may have missed while you were there," Eric tells them.
"I'll call her mom and make sure there was no family emergency that would have called her away," Michelle says, pulling out her phone as she walks out of the conference room.
"Why were you at her house to begin with?" Frankie asks Declan.
"What the hell does that matter? If he hadn't been there, we wouldn't know she was missing until much later. You really need to get your priorities straight," Heath barks at Frankie.
"We had plans for dinner to go over some of the wedding details for Eric and Michelle," Declan says before walking out of the conference room with Heath as he shakes his head.
I look over at Frankie and see his face is red, from anger or embarrassment, I'm not sure, and unfortunately, I don't have time to decipher it, since there are twenty cab companies alone in Largo, and I begin making calls.
"What do you need me to do, Boss?" I hear Frankie ask.
"I need you to pull her phone records for the last three months. Let's see if there is anything unusual in them that could help us. "
"On it."
Frankie walks out of the conference room just as the dispatcher for the first taxi company on the list answers the phone.
